1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a portable hair dryer, more particularly to a portable hand-held hair dryer with a retractable hand grip.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A number of portable hand-held dryers for traveler's use and home use have been placed on the market. One typical example is disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent application publication (KOKAI) No. 58-149705 in which, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the attached drawings of this specification, a hand grip 1 is detachably attached to a dryer housing 4 with blower means. The hand grip 1 is shaped into a U-shaped member which fits over an air outlet end 5 of the housing 4 with its legs 2 and 3 being inserted into complementary grooves 6 and 7 formed in the housing 4 when the dryer is not in use. When the dryer is in use, the user has to detach the hand grip 1 from the housing 4 and then reattach it thereto by inserting the upper leg 2 to the lower groove 7, as shown in FIG. 2, so as to extend the hand grip 1 outwardly of the housing 4 ready for being grasped by the hand of the user. With this detachable hand grip 1, the hair dryer suffers problems that it necessitates the inconvenient operation of detaching and reattaching the hand grip 1 to the housing 4 for handling between the packed position and the extended position. In addition the detachable hand grip 1 is likely to be easily lost.
Another prior hair dryer is disclosed in U.K. patent application No. GB 2,131,686 A in which a dryer housing 10 has a foldable hand grip 11, as schematically shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the attached drawings. The hand grip 11 is pivoted at its end 12 to a corner portion of the housing 10 for movement between a folded position in which it is nested on the outlet end of the housing 10 and an extended position in which it extends outwardly from the housing 10. In this prior hair dryer with the pivoted hand grip 11, the danger is always present of accidental pinching of the fingers of the user between the hand grip and the housing during actual use. In addition, the prior hair dryers including the above-described ones have no provision of forming in the periphery of the housing at a portion adjacent the hand grip and rearwardly thereof a recess which is adapted to receive a part of the user's hand grasping the hand grip. Such a recess is desirable for providing comfortable and well-balanced support or handling of the hair dryer during the course of hair drying or styling operation while maintaining a length of the hand grip at a minimum dimension.